2008 MLS Cup playoffs

The 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs were the postseason to Major League Soccer's 2008 season, and culminated with MLS Cup 2008 on November 23, 2008 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

2008 MLS Cup Playoffs

Tournament details
Country	United States
Teams	8
Defending champions	Houston Dynamo
Final positions
Champions	Columbus Crew (1st title)
Runners-up	New York Red Bulls
Semifinalists	Chicago Fire Real Salt Lake
Tournament statistics
Matches played	11
Goals scored	25 (2.27 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Juan Pablo Ángel Chad Marshall John Wolyniec (2 goals each)
← 2007 2009 →

Format

Main article: MLS Cup Playoffs

At the 2008 season's end, the top three teams of each conference made the playoffs; in addition the clubs with the next two highest point totals, regardless of conference, were added to the playoffs. In the first round of this knockout tournament, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners; the Conference Championships were one match each, with the winner of each conference advancing to MLS Cup. In all rounds, the tie-breaking method was two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used.

Standings

Conference standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew	30	17	7	6	50	36	+14	57	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Chicago Fire	30	13	10	7	44	33	+11	46
3	New England Revolution	30	12	11	7	40	43	−3	43
4	Kansas City Wizards	30	11	10	9	37	39	−2	42
5	New York Red Bulls	30	10	11	9	42	48	−6	39
6	D.C. United	30	11	15	4	43	51	−8	37
7	Toronto FC	30	9	13	8	34	43	−9	35

Source: MLS

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Houston Dynamo	30	13	5	12	45	32	+13	51	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Chivas USA	30	12	11	7	40	41	−1	43
3	Real Salt Lake	30	10	10	10	40	39	+1	40
4	Colorado Rapids	30	11	14	5	44	45	−1	38
5	FC Dallas	30	8	10	12	45	41	+4	36
6	LA Galaxy	30	8	13	9	55	62	−7	33
7	San Jose Earthquakes	30	8	13	9	32	38	−6	33

Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew (C, S)	30	17	7	6	50	36	+14	57	CONCACAF Champions League
2	Houston Dynamo	30	13	5	12	45	32	+13	51
3	Chicago Fire	30	13	10	7	44	33	+11	46	North American SuperLiga
4	Chivas USA	30	12	11	7	40	41	−1	43
5	New England Revolution	30	12	11	7	40	43	−3	43
6	Kansas City Wizards	30	11	10	9	37	39	−2	42
7	Real Salt Lake	30	10	10	10	40	39	+1	40
8	New York Red Bulls	30	10	11	9	42	48	−6	39	CONCACAF Champions League
9	Colorado Rapids	30	11	14	5	44	45	−1	38
10	D.C. United	30	11	15	4	43	51	−8	37	CONCACAF Champions League
11	FC Dallas	30	8	10	12	45	41	+4	36
12	Toronto FC	30	9	13	8	34	43	−9	35	CONCACAF Champions League[a]
13	LA Galaxy	30	8	13	9	55	62	−7	33
14	San Jose Earthquakes	30	8	13	9	32	38	−6	33

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield
Notes:

1. As winners of the 2009 Canadian Championship

Bracket

	Conference semifinals						Conference finals					MLS Cup
	E1	Columbus	1	2
	E4	Kansas City	1	0
							E1	Columbus	2
	Eastern Conference
							E2	Chicago	1
	E3	New England	0	0
	E2	Chicago	0	3
												E1	Columbus	3
												W4	New York	1
	W1	Houston	1	0
	W4	New York	1	3
							W4	New York	1
	Western Conference
							W3	Salt Lake	0
	W3	Salt Lake	1	2
	W2	Chivas USA	0	2

¹ The New York Red Bulls earned the eighth and final playoff berth, despite finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference. They represent the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoff bracket, as only three teams in the Western Conference qualified for the playoffs.

Conference semifinals

November 1, 2008
7:00 PM CDT

Columbus Crew	1 – 1	Kansas City Wizards
Padula  84' Lenhart 90+2' Carroll  90+3'		Jewsbury  40' Arnaud 53' Gomez  75'

Community America Ballpark, Kansas City, Kansas

Attendance: 10,385

Referee: Jorge Gonzalez

November 8, 2008
7:30 PM EST

Kansas City Wizards	0 – 2	Columbus Crew
Arnaud  39' Wahl  49'		Evans 7'  63' Rogers 57'  66' Hejduk  87' Ekpo  90'

Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 11,153

Referee: Ricardo Salazar

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October 30, 2008
7:30 PM EDT

Chicago Fire	0 – 0	New England Revolution
Soumare  16' Pause  59' Blanco  69'		Mansally  42' Castro  73'

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 5,221

Referee: Alex Prus

November 6, 2008
7:30 PM CST

New England Revolution	0 – 3	Chicago Fire
Albright  7'  83' Igwe  45+2' Joseph  53'		Thorrington  36' Rolfe 45+2' Conde 47' Busch  62' Segares 74'

Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois

Attendance: 17,312

Referee: Jair Marrufo

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November 1, 2008
4:00 PM EDT

Houston Dynamo	1 – 1	New York Red Bulls
Mullan  53' Kamara 85'		Richards  29' Angel  37' 48'

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Attendance: 11,578

Referee: Kevin Stott

November 9, 2008
2:00 PM CST

New York Red Bulls	3 – 0	Houston Dynamo
van den Bergh  5' Richards 25' Goldthwaite  28' Angel 36' (pen.) Sassano  45+2' Wolyniec 81'		Robinson  62' Onstad  69' Mullan  73'

Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas

Attendance: 30,053

Referee: Baldomero Toledo

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November 1, 2008
4:00 PM MDT

Chivas USA	0 – 1	Real Salt Lake
Razov  66' Thomas  75'		Williams  29' Beckerman  42' Movsisyan 90'

Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah

Attendance: 14,719

Referee: Ricardo Salazar

November 8, 2008
7:30 PM PST

Real Salt Lake	2 – 2	Chivas USA
Mathis  10' Borchers  30' Kovalenko 39'  42' Morales 77'		Nagamura  22' Kljestan 30' (pen.) Bornstein  60' Braun 83' Razov  86' Thomas  90+1'

Home Depot Center, Carson, California

Attendance: 19,256

Referee: Michael Kennedy

Conference finals

November 13, 2008
7:30PM EST

Chicago Fire	1–2	Columbus Crew
Soumare  22' McBride 29' Segares  48' Prideaux  67'		Marshall 49' Gaven 55' O'Rourke  57' Hesmer  90+2'

Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 14,688

Referee: Terry Vaughn

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November 15, 2008
7:30PM MST

New York Red Bulls	1–0	Real Salt Lake
van den Bergh 28' Goldthwaite  45' Rojas  64' Leitch  90+4'

Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah

Attendance: 20,008

Referee: Jair Marrufo

MLS Cup

See also: MLS Cup 2008

November 23, 2008
12:30 PM PST

New York Red Bulls	1–3	Columbus Crew
Leitch  4' Wolyniec 51'		Moreno 31' Marshall 53' Padula  68' Hejduk 82'

Home Depot Center, Carson, California

Attendance: 27,000

Referee: Baldomero Toledo

Additional References

• MLS Cup 2008
• MLS Cup Playoffs
• 2008 Major League Soccer season